Inspirational speakers and discussion
Developing strategies in response to COVID-19
Plenary Session
Chair: Neil Butler, founder director of the Zap, UZ Events and UZ Arts and partner in IN SITU, now working independently
www.neilbutler.org
Festivals and COVID-19
How festivals across Europe and the UK have developed strategies in response to COVID-19, plus a case study from Canada
Keynote: Nadia Aguir, Head of European and international relations for the IN SITU network, is based at Lieux Publics, a national creation centre in Marseilles and founded the IN SITU network with UZ, La Strada and two other partners. Nadia will give an overview of how festivals across Europe are responding to the challenges of presenting art in public space during the COVID-19 crisis
www.lieuxpublics.com
Angus MacKechnie, director of Outdoor Arts UK, has led that organisation to a substantial increase in its membership and national status as advocates of outdoor arts in the UK. Angus will outline the current timetable and guidelines on returning to performance. “I’ll share some responses from our Covid Impact Survey and offer some case studies on adapting outdoor work to the current and future circumstances from our weekly Online Drop-In sessions, probably including Festival of Thrift, Leonardselee Illuminated, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, Markmark Productions, Cirque Bijou & Highly Sprung Performance Co.”
www.outdoorartsuk.org
Werner Schrempf of La Strada, Austria and a founder member of IN SITU will talk about how he adapted his festival programme so that he can maintain relationships with his artists and audiences by work being presented across an extended time frame.
www.lastrada.at
Alan Richardson, director of Surge has kept his commitment to present a festival today. You are part of it and this is how he did it.
www.surge.scot
Wandy Cheng is an engagement coordinator at STEPS, overseeing engagement strategies across different platforms to support successful program delivery. With the goal of supporting artists, connecting communities and exploring public spaces, INsiders Artist Project was launched across Canada in April as a response to the public health crisis.
www.stepsinitiative.com
Q and A
Please ask your questions through Zoom chat, putting the name of the presenter you are addressing at the start of your question
How different sectors have responded to COVID-19
Within outdoor arts each sector has particular challenges in responding to COVID-19. Producers from circus, dance, education and street theatre (theory!) discuss their response
Martin Danziger is creative director of Modo – Circus with Purpose. He has directed professional and community theatre, circus and clowning work for companies across Scotland as well as continuing to work extensively in Europe. Harnessing the skills and thrills of circus, Modo, helps young people to improve life chances, skills, confidence and self-esteem while celebrating and creating the culture and community of the region. Working closely with partners, Modo provides young people with positive, progressive and accredited activities, and contributes widely to providing positive pathways for young people
www.modo.org.uk
Louise Richards is founder and executive director of Motionhouse, a company that creates and tours a wide range of inspiring and powerful dance-circus productions to theatres and festivals in the UK and across the globe. Their distinctive, highly physical style integrates elements of circus and acrobatics with breathtaking dance, powerful narrative and incredible digital imagery to surprise and delight their audiences. They create strategies to make and present work within the dance sector
www.motionhouse.co.uk
Mary Genis, FRSA the founder and leader of CultureMix Arts, is renowned for her ground-breaking work developing and nurturing young talent. Mary is a respected mentor and advisor on how to transform your creative passion into a sustainable business and will be talking about the CultureMix programmes during lockdown and how the organisation will sustain activities after social distancing
www.culturemixarts.co.uk
James Macpherson, of Artizani, has been an outdoor arts professional for 30 years and is currently in the final stages of doctoral research in to the relationships between performance, audience and public space. His presentation offers some evidence-based considerations that may help in planning for and evaluating strategies for Moving Out
www.artizani.net
Q and A
Please ask your questions through Zoom chat, putting the name of the presenter you are addressing at the start of your question
Artists’ presentations
Artists from a wide range of disciplines discuss their response to COVID-19 from planning and presenting new work to adapting existing work
Angus Farquhar was creative director of internationally renowned NVA and now of Aproxima Arts. Angus and Rudy Kanhye have joined together to make an inventive food growing initiative, An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand, that has managed to survive the lockdown and find an inspiring way to allow people to work together collectively in isolation
www.aproxima.co.uk
Seth Honnor is founder and artistic director of Kaleider, an international production studio. Playing on the edge of installation, live performance and digital, Kaleider makes artworks for audiences around the world and runs innovation programmes in art and creative technology. Seth will talk about pivoting artworks during the pandemic that were originally designed for public space
www.kaleider.com
Luke Jerram’s multidisciplinary practice involves the creation of sculptures, installations and live arts projects. In Memoriam is a new artwork he has developed as a response to the pandemic, which is set to premiere in Zomer van Antwerpen, Belgium this August before touring the UK. The installation is a temporary memorial for the public to visit and remember all those we have lost from the COVID-19 pandemic. The artwork is also made in tribute to all the healthcare workers and volunteers who have been risking their lives during the crisis
www.lukejerram.com
Angie Dight is artistic director of Mischief La-Bas. Founded in Glasgow 1992, they create interactive public performance, mostly outdoors in high streets, rural locations and for festivals. Largely interactive, our work is often humorous and surreal, the performance is ‘created’ with the public, inviting them to play momentarily in a warped and mischievous reality…whatever the ‘story’ or subject
www.mischieflabas.co.uk
R.M. Sánchez-Camus (Marcelo) will be presenting some of his response work created during the COVID-19 emergency, including Creative Neighbourhoods newsletter, Social Art Network online meetups, Social Art Library and Social ARTery online projects for artists working in socially engaged practice. He will also be chairing a conversation that explores the tension in practices that are rooted in participation during a period of pandemic lockdown. Together with artists interested in exploring audience participation, ways to continue to work and develop, how to navigate online spaces and bring art to the public and consideration of the importance of care and art in a post-pandemic world will be discussed
www.appliedliveart.com
Zoe Katsilerou is a performer and maker with background on contemporary dance, devised theatre, physical theatre, music, polyphonic singing, voice coaching and improvisation. Originally from Greece, she is currently based in the UK. She is working in collaboration with Eilon Morris to create a work that includes two stories and sound worlds running simultaneously
www.zoekatsilerou.com
Jen Patterson is artistic director of All or Nothing, Scotland’s leading aerial dance company. They create, perform, teach and pioneer aerial arts in Scotland since 2006. Based in Edinburgh, they blend breath-taking aerial acrobatics with dance, theatre and contemporary circus
www.aerialdance.co.uk
Breakout Workshops
Breakout 1 Designing work
Creating work in direct response to the COVID-19 crisis
Chair: Martin Danziger
Diane Thornton forms part of Tenterhooks, one visual artist and two theatre clowns putting audiences at the heart of the bold and playful performances they make
www.tenterhooks.org
Ross Whyte is a sound artist who will talk on how lockdown been a massive game-changer; “It’s vastly expanded my musical language and my playing abilities”
www.rosswhyte.com
Alex Rigg will be performing with his company, Oceanallover, later this afternoon; Morlocks and the Slow Wormhave been adapted in response to COVID-19
www.oceanallover.co.uk
Swallow The Sea Caravan Theatre is intimate all-immersive short form theatre – shadow & tabletop puppetry, object and physical theatre, poetry, installation and live soundscapes shared in/from a converted 1970s caravan. Swallow the Sea’s post-COVID-19 objective is to create and tour more shows that utilise the caravan as a stage, with the audience located outside
www.swallowthesea.com
Breakout 2 Publicly engaged work
Strategies to work with the public whilst observing social distancing
Chair: R.M. Sánchez-Camus
Sumit Sarkar is a sculptor and graffiti artist working across media through 3D printing, video projection and digital art. He will talk about the impact of lockdown on his practice and will be creating work live in this evening’s cabaret
www.kriksix.com
Elisabeth Schilling will be talking about INVISIBLE DANCES: Art after Lockdown. This new work proposes an alternative format to presenting and touring dance inspired by current regulations and restrictions in the cultural sector. It fuses visual art and movement in a playful, creative and original way and aims at bringing culture right back to the heart of local communities. This project respects all medicinal measurements for both audiences and performers, is non-digital and highly cost efficient
www.elisabethschilling.com
Breakout 3 Producing festivals programmes
Strategies to support artists and retain audiences through COVID-19
Chair: Werner Schrempf
Trevor Davies is an IN SITU partner and director of Metropolis Festival who have been presenting live work by artists, a different one walking across Copenhagen each day for 65 days – so far
www.kit.dk
Thor McIntyre-Burnie is “Transforming sites into symphonies to walk within”
www.aswarm.com
Breakout 4 Adapting Work
Adapting work to account for the changing world
Chair: Louise Richards
Adrian Schvarzstein is a street clown; “I am always on the road, filling my suitcase with treasures. They all have a story and I want to share them with you”. Adrian will talk of the challenging isolation measures in Barcelona
www.adrianschvarzstein.com
Roger Hartley and the Bureau Of Silly Ideas (BOSI) are figureheads in the UK outdoor arts sector. As recognised pioneers within the field, they continue to transform public spaces, creating new pathways/platforms for engagement and challenging what ‘art’ is, through silliness and interrogation for over 15 years. Roger will be performing in the Surge programme
www.bureauofsillyideas.com
Ken Turner, born in India in 1926, he is a painter and video and performance artist. Ken lived on site during the construction of the Zap Club and made the first performance at the club. He has made this collaborative work in response to COVID-19
www.imaginativeeye.co.uk
